The Achaemenid king, Cambyses II of Persia, was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great.  Though Cyrus is lauded by friend and foe alike as the ideal ruler, his son Cambyses in many written sources has been portrayed as just the opposite - a cruel, intolerant and unjust tyrant.  But are these accusations true or simply the result of anti-Persian propaganda that was spread by some of their dissatisfied subject peoples, most notably in Egypt?  Most of what we know about Cambyses II comes from his time in Egypt, which we'll take a look at here to see if we can determine just who the real Cambyses II of Persia was.   Follow History with Cy:YouTube ChannelInstagramFacebookTwitterWebsite Support the show